Moving Forward
by Zangetsu575
Summary: With Buster Moon's comeback special being a huge success the Moon theatre will soon rise from the ashes, what will the future bring for Buster's up and coming stars? they can only find out by moving forward
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

It had been a whole month since Buster Moon's comeback special. the performance that had won the hearts of the entire city, even Nana Noodleman, Eddies rich and rather famous grandmother was quite impressed, so much so that she agreed to purchase the theatre and rebuild it better than ever.

"I, no, _we_ did it dad!" Buster thought as he oversaw the construction of what was going to be the new and improved Moon Theatre, it would be quite some time before it was finished but Buster wanted everything to be perfect, after all, he needed to repay the people who made this all possible.

* * *

Johnny had finally been allowed to visit his father after his escape from jail just a few weeks earlier, the two were elated to see each other, especially Marcus who couldn't wait to have a proper conversation with his son for the first time in weeks.

"Y'know lad, I never knew ya had it in ya!" Marcus said from the other side of the glass booth separating him and his son.

"Thanks dad, I'm glad ya could see it, even if ya were being... y'know, _chased_ , through the city for most of it" The young gorilla said while sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

Marcus let out a proud laugh that was heard all throughout the police station, startling the guards who were on high alert since his escape.

"Nothin' was gonna stop me from tellin ya how proud I am Johnny" The larger Gorilla averted his eyes, a sigh escaping his mouth as he placed his hand on the glass.

"I should have been a better father to ya Johnny" Johnny could see the hurt in his fathers eyes, it hit him quite deeply.

Johnny stood up rather quickly, causing his chair to slide back. "No dad it's not your fault its-" Marcus interrupted him. "No son, it _is_ my fault, with ya mum gone and all, I was so afraid of losin' ya that I dragged ya into the gang as a misguided attempt to keep ya close, some dad I am eh? " Johnny pulled his chair back into place and quietly sat back down, listening to his father as he poured his heart out.

"Everything I did to keep ya close, just ended up pushin ya further away, Funny innit?"

Marcus looked up at his son and smiled. "I ain't gonna make those mistakes anymore Johnny, as soon as I'm outta here, I'm goin straight, we'll start over good as new" Johnny was on the verge of tears, not from sadness but from sheer happiness, he had wanted to be accepted by his father his whole life, and now, he was.

"Wrap it up inmates! visiting times are almost over!"

Marcus looked over his shoulder and grunted with disappointment. "Well I better get back to my cell, gotta be on my best behaviour if I wanna get outta here" Marcus chuckled, reluctant to end the conversation with his son, he begrudgingly stood up.

"I love ya son, I'll see ya soon"

Johnny grinned from ear to ear. 'I love you too dad, I'll be back to visit as soon as I can" Johnny stood back up, however his eyes widened as he realised something he had forgot to ask his dad. "One more thing dad! the guys from the theatre wanted to throw a party to celebrate the theatre being rebuilt and I thought that maybe, we could y-y'know have it at the garage?" Marcus laughed at his son's bashfulness. "Of course you can lad, just don't wreck the place y'hear"

"I won't dad I promise"

The two gorilla's gave each other one last loving glance before waving each other goodbye. Johnny left the police station playfully twirling his car keys around his index finger, singing a happy tune to himself as he made his way to his truck, after hopping into the driver's seat, he pulled out his phone to send a text message to his friends to let them know that he got the OK to throw the party at his place.

 **Johnny: "Hey guys, dad said it was alright to have the party at the garage, I'll start setting up ASAP. _"_**

 ** _Message sent_**

After sending the text, Johnny started his car and drove off towards the city,

* * *

Later that night Johnny had begun setting up the garage for the party, luckily for him, Meena had come over early with a cake she had baked for everyone. The sight of him clumsily trying to put the party decorations up while standing tiptoed on a stepladder, was both amusing and alarming at the same time as he had almost fallen a few times. Meena put the cake down on the table and offered to help decorate.

"Wow Meena the place looks great! I couldn't have done it without ya!" Johnny said, looking at the decorations with pride.

Meena smiled and ruffled the young gorilla's hair with her trunk. "Don't mention it Johnny" The two jumped slightly from a knock at the door. "Oh, that must be the others, I'll get it" He said as he walked over to answer the door, suddenly the door swung open and sent him flying backward, he landed on his back, _hard_ , hitting the ground with a large thud. A stampede of 25 little piglets came rushing through the door, jumping all over the place, their childish giggles filling the room. Johnny shook his head in a daze before noticing Rosita standing in front of him with her hand extended.

"Oh my gosh are you OK johnny? I'm sorry about that, the kids are all WAY too energetic" Rosita looked up and saw Gunter was also there among her boisterous children, she then rolled her eyes. "Him too"

"That's alright Rosita, don't worry about it" He took her hand so she could help him up, dusting himself off he noticed laughter coming from behind her, it was Ash, she was cackling like a hyena, Johnny's face became flushed with embarrassment.

"C'mon Ash it wasn't _THAT_ funny..."

Ash wiped a single tear from her eye, her laughter dying down enough to respond. "Sorry Johnny I couldn't help it" Johnny's pout shifted to a smile. "Alright Ash, ya got me, I guess it _was_ pretty funny" Johnny motioned towards the pool table in the lounge.

"Up for a game?"

Ash set down her guitar case before looking at Johnny with a cheeky grin. "Only if you wanna lose big guy" the two playfully rushed over to the table, setting up for the game, Johnny pulled out his lucky pool cue, it was gift from his dad for his 12th birthday.

"You're goin down spikey" Ash fired back with a quip of her own. "Bring it on banana boy"

Ash and Johnny had been hanging out a lot lately, having met by chance in the city one night, the two decided to grab a bite to eat together, once the two actually talked for the first time they realised they actually had a lot in common, they had very similar problems, Ash's lingering pain from Lance cheating on her and Johnny's sadness at his father being jailed. it wasn't long before the two became best friends.

"How've you been lately Ash? has,,,,, **h** _ **e** ,_ been bothering you?"

Ash flinched a little at the question, recalling how Lance would knock on the door from time to time, begging for a chance to talk, claiming he'd _changed,_ yeah right _!_ she wasn't going to fall for that, so she would just ignore him until he gave up and left, but his persistence was beginning to get really annoying.

"Yeah... you don't need to worry though!, it's nothing I can't handle"

Johnny wasn't entirely convinced that everything was completely fine but he decided to have faith in his friend. "A-alright Ash... but if he does try something..." Ash couldn't help but giggle, she couldn't believe how someone who grew up surrounded by crime, could have such and altruistic nature, it actually troubled her at first, she wasn't used to such selflessness, however over time she came to admire that part of him.

"I'll be fine Johnny, don't worry"

Suddenly everyone found themselves clutching their ears as a large screech filled the room, the source of the noise was Eddie and Buster finally arriving to the party, dragging a karaoke machine into the garage, the noise was so unbearable the gang all rushed over to help carry the machine inside.

"Hey everybody! it's good to see all of you!" Buster exclaimed into the karaoke machine's microphone. "I know Mike couldn't make it tonight since he's... god knows where! but lets all make this a night to remember!" All the guests raised their drinks for a toast.

"To the New Moon Theatre!"

 _" **HOORAY**!"_

They all cheered loudly, knowing in there hearts that when the New Moon theatre is complete, they can all move forward, together.

Chapter 1 End


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

It was the morning after the celebration party, Johnny was startled at just how much of a _mess_ was left over from it.

" _Man, those guy's really know how to make a mess..._." Johnny thought as he picked up the trash that littered the floor of his garage, he could still hear Rosita's constant apologies in the back of his mind.

" _Sorry Johnny! I'm so sorry!_ " the image of her hopelessly trying to get her kid's to stop bouncing all over his furniture was still fresh in his mind.

He smiled gently. " _Rosita really is a strong woman_ " he thought, of course she was. she _**had** _ to be, looking after 25 children _definitely_ wouldn't be easy. Johnny couldn't help but feel that, in a way, she reminded him of his own mother, at least, what little he could remember of her before she passed away. Perhaps that's why their friendship blossomed so easily.

The young gorilla yawned, wiping the sleep from his tired eyes before continuing to clean, only to be interrupted by his phone buzzing in his jeans

" _Who could be calling this early_?"

He pulled his phone out his pocket and checked the caller ID, it was Ash.

"Hey Johnny! what's up?"

"Oh not much... Just cleaning up after last night"

Ash chuckled, recalling the previous nights events. "Yeah! it got pretty crazy after awhile, totally worth it though!" Johnny glanced around the lounge, scanning all the piled up garbage. "Yeah... you don't have to clean up the mess though..." Johnny instinctively pulled the phone away from his head as the sound of Ash's laughter pierced his eardrums.

"Ah stop complaining, we all had fun! and besides, Buster _did_ say you could keep the karaoke machine right _?"_

Johnny looked over at the ornate karaoke machine, he had to admit, he and the others had a great time using it last night, the thought of getting to use it whenever he wanted was pretty exciting for him.

"Y'know what? you're right! thanks Ash"

"Don't mention it! by the way, are you free later?"

Johnny scratched his head, trying to remember if he had anything planned for the day. "I _think_ so"

"Great! wanna hang out later?"

Johnny's eyes lit up, "Sure that'd be great, just...uhm...gimme some time to finish cleaning up OK?" he was met with an enthusiastic giggle. "Sure thing, text me when you're done, I'll see ya later Johnny"

"See ya Ash."

Johnny returned to cleaning up the garage, picking up his pace so he could get it done quicker, he was brimming with energy now, he shot a quick glance up at the clock. " _Hmm 8:30... I can get this all cleaned up in 20 minutes , tops!_ "

After a while, Johnny stood panting in the middle of his lounge, however the place was now _clean_ as a whistle, wasting no time, he shot Ash a quick text before bolting out the door,

* * *

Johnny and Ash were happily chatting away at a new burger joint Ash had come across the other day, however they were both _painfully_ aware of all the patrons staring at them.

"Hey aren't those two..." the people in the diner whispered to each other, barely out of earshot.

Along with Gunter, Rosita, Mike and Meena, the two were regarded as minor celebrities since their legendary debut last month, it was only natural that they would attract attention. Ash had a grin from ear to ear while Johnny was nervously drumming his fingers along the table they were sitting at, the attention was a little overwhelming for him.

"C'mon big guy, why are you so nervous? you performed in front of hundreds of people last month, this is _nothing_ compared to that"

"Y - yeah I know, it's just a little hard to get used to y'know?" Ash leant back with her arms folded, grin still wide on her face, "Not really, I think it's great!"

" _Same old Ash..._ " he thought, Ash shot a quick glance over her shoulder, her eyes widened and she gasped before slamming her head down on the table, frantically trying to hide her face with the lunch menu. "Uh... Ash? are yo -"

" ** _SHHHHHHHHH_** "

Ash interrupted the bewildered young gorilla before he could finish his sentence. " _It's Lance_ " she whispered. Johnny scanned the diner until he saw him, a male Porcupine that just _oozed_ an aura of arrogance. "Jeez... just by _looking_ at him, you can tell he's a douche" Johnny thought. His eyes shifted back to Ash, who was trying _desperately_ not to be spotted. he couldn't help but chuckle, the usually calm and cool Ash, had just completely lost her composure, it was kind of adorable. Judging from her demeanour though, she clearly didn't want to deal with Lance right now so Johnny came up with an Idea.

" _Hey Ash, let's make a break for it_ " Johnny whispered.

She looked up at him and gave him a silent nod, he gently grabbed her hands. "OK, on the count of three..." He glanced over at the entrance.

"One...two... ** _three!_** "

Johnny shot up and darted towards the entrance, pulling Ash along with him, the two of them looked like a blur to the confused onlookers as they sped out the door. The two ran down the street, dodging all the people on the sidewalk until they were a safe enough distance away from the diner to catch their breath.

"You...are way... too fast...Johnny!" Ash said while panting heavily, she felt like she was going to cough up a lung. Johnny however, was only slightly puffed. "Sorry about that Ash, I'm kinda used to running away from people" Ash noticed something that caused her to blush, they were still holding hands. "Uh...uhm...Johnny?" she nervously played with her quills. "Y-you can let go now"

"Wha? oh!" Johnny quickly let go of her hand, his face red with embarrassment. "Sorry Ash..." he placed his hands in his pockets, trying to think of something to say to ease the awkwardness of the situation. "I don't think Lance saw us, so... wanna get going?"

"Y-yeah"

Ash felt guilty about them having to leave the diner like that, Lance deciding to crawl back to her after she became famous, claiming he'd _changed,_ was far too hard for her to believe, if Lance actually _had_ spotted her, the two would have probably got into a huge screaming match, she didn't want Johnny to see that. With all these thoughts bouncing around in her mind, the image of her and Johnny's hands intertwined popped up, causing her to blush again.

 _"_ Lets go" she said

"O-Ok" Johnny looked at his palm for a moment, " _her hand was so soft_ " he thought, surprised at himself for thinking that he began to shake his head vigorously, " _What are ya thinking man? snap out of it_!"

The two walked for what seemed like an eternity, why did such a small thing like holding hands make their hearts pound so much? before either of them could rationalize their thoughts, a loud grumble erupted from both of their stomachs, the two stopped and stared at each other before bursting out into laughter. "Since we bailed from the burger joint, wanna go get some pizza?" Johnny asked with a smile.

"Now you're talking!"

The awkward feeling between them had completely faded, opting to just enjoy their day together, the two casually strolled through the city, laughing with each other the whole way.

Chapter 2 End


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

Johnny was speechless, Lance was the last person he expected to find knocking on his door, but there he was, looking rather dishevelled. "What do _you_ want?" Johnny said,

"Y-you're Ash's friend, Johnny, right?" Lance said

Johnny crossed his arms. "Yeah, what's it to ya?" He had heard enough about Lance from Ash to instantly dislike him. frankly, he _had_ absolutely _no_ idea what she saw in him in the first place. Johnny wondered how Lance knew about his friendship with Ash, but even more than that, how he knew where he _lived_. "I'm Lance, her ex, but you probably already know that..."

"How did you find out where i live?" Johnny asked.

"Oh yeah, you and your dad actually worked on a friend of mine's car a while back, I got the address from him, look I know this is sudden but..."

"Please! You've gotta convince Ash to talk to me!" The young porcupine pleaded, the distress in his voice seemed oddly _genuine_ , nevertheless, Johnny wasn't buying it. "Why? so you can hurt her again!" Johnny adopted a more aggressive stance, Lance stepped back, waving his arms in front of him in a defensive manner. "No! no that's not it! I want to apologise to her! please, just...hear me out"

" _Apologise?_ " Johnny thought, he studied Lance's face, looking for any hint of dishonesty, he couldn't find any, Johnny was stunned, could Lance be telling the truth? He took one last look at Lance's pained expression and sighed. "Fine... you've got 5 minutes" Johnny turned and pointed to the sofa.

"Thanks man I-I appreciate it" Lance slowly walked over to the couch, he wasn't exuding the same arrogant aura as the last time Johnny saw him, in fact, he looked almost utterly defeated. Johnny went and sat down, Lance was nervously tapping his knee, trying not to make direct eye contact with the gorilla.

"Go on then, talk" Johnny had a stern look on his face.

"Alright, here it goes" Lance swallowed hard and took a deep breath before continuing. "I've been trying to talk to Ash for for weeks now, but she just completely ignores me, She blocked my number, she never answers her door..." Lance began to list off all the ways he had to tried contact Ash, with every one of them being futile in the end. "All I want to do is say I'm sorry, and she won't, _goddamn_ , let me!"

"Look mate, from what I've heard, ya accused her of sellin' out, then _encouraged_ her to sell out, belittled her talent, then **_cheated_** on her. It's pretty obvious why she doesn't wanna speak to you again"

Lance gritted his teeth and averted his gaze, Johnny's words _stung_. 'it's complicated OK?"

"Complicated? seems pretty simple to me" Johnny scoffed,

Lance let out a frustrated grunt. "Look, I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I had any other choice" Johnny uncrossed his arms and leaned closer to Lance, before pointing at his own face. "I want ya to look me in the eyes, and tell me, that everything ya just said wasn't a lie" Lance looked up at Johnny before locking eyes with him. "Yes, I'm not trying to get her to take me back or anything like that, I _just_ want to apologise to her"

Johnny's eyes widened with surprise, he lowered his face into his hand, contemplating what to do. Ash is his best friend, the last thing he wanted to do was make her unhappy, If he asked her to speak to Lance, maybe she'd be able to fully move on, or maybe she'd get really, _really,_ pissed at him for suggesting it. He took one last look at Lance's expression and heaved a heavy sigh.

"OK... I'll ask her, Jeez, I better not regret this" Lance smiled at Johnny before leaping up to shake his hand. "You won't! I promise!" A buzzing noise reverberated from Lance's pocket, he pulled out his phone and checked it. "I'd better go, I gotta meet up with my girlfriend Becky, we're playing a gig at a restaurant downtown"

" _Becky?, isn't that the girl he cheated on Ash with_?" Johnny thought, Lance jumped off the couch and headed towards the door, he stopped and looked back at Johnny. "Thanks Johnny, it means a lot that you even talked to me at all, most other people would have probably just told me to fuck off"

"Trust me, I wanted to" Johnny said in an almost joking manner, Lance smirked and flashed him the rock on sign. "Later" he said as he left. Johnny slumped back in his seat, staring up at the ceiling. "Well, shit..." he thought to himself.

Glancing up at the clock, he took out his phone, after staring at the screen for about 15 minutes, he finally decided to give Ash a call, part of him wished that she wouldn't answer, but she did. "Hey Johnny! whats up?"

" _Shit_ " he thought, she sounded so happy when she answered, he dreaded the fact that he may be about to screw that up. "Uh hey Ash...uhm...can we meet up? we need to talk."

It was gonna be a long day.

* * *

" **You did what!** "

" _Yep, she's pissed_ " Johnny thought.

" **What the fuck were you thinking?** " Ash was yelling at the top her lungs, her hands balled into fists, her eyes filled with blind rage. but worst of all her quills were flying everywhere, lucky for Johnny, he arranged for them to meet at the garage, if this was in public it would have been pretty ugly. _Unlucky_ for Johnny he was crouched behind his couch, trying to avoid the hailstorm of quills flying all over the place, not to mention the slew of profanity being flung at him.

" **I'm done with Lance! OK? I wrote a whole goddamn song about it**!"

"Ash"

" **And he comes to you, spinning some bullshit sob story, and you fall for it?** "

"Ash!"

" **I thought you were my friend!"**

 **"Ash!, ah screw it!"** Johnny shot up and leapt over the couch, he rushed towards her, shielding his face with his hands, attempting to ignore the pain as the quills dig into him. he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, trying to calm her down. "Ash please listen to me! I- argh!" Although he tried to ignore it, the pain from the quills brought him to his knees.

"Johnny!" Ash snapped out of her enraged state, "I'm sorry Johnny I- I didn't mean to" she started to gently yank her quills out of Johnny's skin, he winced in pain each time she pulled one out, but he was happy that she calmed down. "It's alright Ash, this is nothin' I can't handle" He chuckled awkwardly, trying not to focus on the quills burrowing deeper into his skin.

"Why?"

"Hmm?

"Why did you say yes to Lance?, even... even knowing how it would make me feel."

Johnny laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Because the look in his eyes when he came to see me, reminded me of my dad" Ash's mouth dropped open with surprise.

"I couldn't overlook that y'know? when my dad first apologised to me, he had the exact same look in his eyes, when I saw that today, it reminded me of my mistakes"

"If I had just told my dad how I felt sooner, maybe he wouldn't be in jail"

"Johnny..." Ash's expression drooped. she felt ashamed of herself for overreacting like that, Johnny is the kindest guy she's ever met, as much as Johnny may have disliked Lance, he isn't the type of person to turn someone away who needed his help, she was just so blinded by her own feelings that she failed to see that.

Johnny felt his body lurch forward as Ash pulled him into a hug, he froze with shock for a moment, before returning the embrace. "I can't let you make the same mistakes Ash, I know you're over him, but if talking to Lance can give you a full sense of closure..." He placed his hands on her shoulders, gently moving her in front of him so he could look into her eyes.

"...Then I would do anything for you to have that Ash, because, you're my friend." Ash was deeply moved by Johnny's incredibly heartfelt speech, and hugged him once again. "Alright, I'll talk to him, even though it's probably gonna suck"

"Let's just hope it doesn't then, OK?"

"So, how about we get the rest of these quills outta me eh? I'm startin' to feel like a bloody pincushion" Ash giggled before bursting into laughter. "Yeah, you look like a gorilla voodoo doll"

"Hey! that's not fu-" As Johnny was about to finish his sentence he caught a glimpse of his refection in the window and couldn't help but snicker. "Yeah ya right, I actually do" The two laughed for a few more moments before Ash began removing the rest of the quills from Johnny's body.

"Holy shit!" Johnny thought when gazing upon the pile of quills that were just yanked out of his body, he rubbed his aching arms before looking over his shoulder to check on Ash, who was rummaging around in his kitchen. "Do you have any disinfectant?" she yelled

"Yeah, there's a first aid kit in the cupboard under the sink, there should be some in there"

"Aha! found it" Johnny could hear the pitter patter of her feet as she rushed back into the lounge, with the first aid kit in hand. "OK now let's clean those wounds" she opened the first aid kit and pulled out some disinfectant, cotton balls and gauze.

"N-no that OK ya don't have to do that.

Ash closed her eyes, shaking her head with disapproval. "You got hurt because of me Johnny, so I'm going to make sure it doesn't get any worse, got it?" Johnny nodded his head, she seemed pretty adamant about this, so arguing with her now would be pointless.

"S-since I pulled some quills out of your chest, Y-you're gonna have to take off your shirt" Johnny's face turned bright red, his ears burned red hot like a furnace, embarrassed, he attempted get up and leave. "No no no no no! I'll be alri-" Ash silenced him by stamping her foot with a loud thud, pointing her index finger straight at him, she motioned downward. " ** _Sit"_** He sat back down in a flash, his every instinct telling him, _not_ , to disobey the woman standing in front of him. "Take off you're shirt so I can start patching you up"

"O-OK" Johnny reluctantly took off his shirt and tossed it onto the floor. Ash stood slack-jawed and wide-eyed, she couldn't believe what she was seeing, he was absolutely ripped!

" _Holy, fucking, shit_!" she thought to herself, it took every ounce of her willpower not to stare at his chiselled physique. "Alright, l-lets get started" she cleared her throat before pouring some disinfectant onto a cotton ball. "Brace yourself, this might sting a bit" Johnny flinched a little as the cotton ball touched his skin. "Did that hurt?" Ash glanced up at Johnny.

"A little but I'm alright" he replied

Time seemed to stand still as Ash worked on fixing up Johnny's wounds, Johnny tried as hard as he could not to stare at Ash as she touched his bare skin, as soon as when she was finished, he exhaled a massive sigh of relief.

"All done." she said

The awkward tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a butter knife, neither knowing exactly what to say to the other, ultimately though, Ash was the one to break the silence. "I'd better get going, I don't wanna miss my train" Ash picked up her bag, giving Johnny a faint but warm smile before heading to the door.

"Ash"

"Yeah Johnny?"

"I hope everything goes well, when you talk to Lance" Ash threw her head back and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, me too" she replied, the sarcasm clear in her voice. Johnny chuckled before warmly smiling at her. "Now that's the Ash I know, take care"

"You too"

Johnny watched out the window as Ash walked further and further away from the garage. " _It really was one hell of a day_ " He glanced over at an old photo of him and his dad when they were younger, one question lingering in his mind.

"Dad, did I do the right thing?"

* * *

Ash walked through the city, all the hustle and bustle of the streets were slowly drowned out by her thoughts. staring at the screen of her phone as she walked, she finally pressed the send button,

 _ **Ash**_ : Fine Lance, you win, I'll listen to what you have to say, meet me at the diner downtown, you know the one."

Message Sent

"Time to put this all behind me"

Ash put her phone away and continued walking, only now her lazy, uninterested stroll changed to a confident strut as she made her way downtown.

Ash sat across from Lance, her legs crossed and arms folded. Lance tugged at the collar of his shirt as if he was struggling to breathe, the glare she was giving him was _beyond_ scary.

"Thanks for seeing me Ash"

"You should thank Johnny, not me, he's the one who stuck his neck out for you"

Lance leaned back in his seat, "Yeah, I know, you wouldn't be here otherwise." The look on his faced changed to a guilt-ridden frown. "He's a great guy, I'm glad you have him"

"That's true"

Ash leaned forward with both arms on the table. "He's the only reason I haven't got up and left already"

"So before I change my mind, say what you came to say"

Lance gulped before taking a deep breath. "Ok"

"Ash, I'm sorry, I've always known how talented you are" Ash narrowed her eyes "What?"

"I always knew about your talent, the way you sing, the way you play guitar, all far outclassed my own talent, and that scared me, a _lot, My insecurities_ led me to take out my anger on you" Lance held his head in his hands. "i resorted to putting you down, belittling your talent, insisting that _I_ was the star and _you_ were just the back up vocals"

Ash pinched her cheek to see if this was all the dream, was she hearing this all correctly?

"When you were chosen for the Koala's singing competition without me, I totally lost it, I handled the whole situation in the stupidest way possible"

"Yeah, you cheated on me, instead of telling me about your problems, you, fucking, cheated on me" Ash chimed in.

"I know! I, _know,_ I didn't mean to fall for Becky OK? it just happened" Lance clenched his fists and shook his head before looking out the window. "Y'know when you were at one of you're practice sessions at the theatre, I played at an almost empty restaurant, alone, and after I was finished, I was met with almost, utter silence, nobody clapped, except for one person, Becky"

Lance then smiled for the first time during this whole conversation. "We hit it off, every night that you practiced, I found myself back at that same restaurant, and every night Becky was there. I decided to spontaneously pull her onto the stage one night, the only instrument we could find though, was an old tambourine that was left backstage, but that was all we needed, the song we sang, it was like magic, that's when I fell for her"

Lance returned his attention to Ash, clasping both hands in front of him, his expression had become much calmer. "Ash, my biggest mistake was hurting you, but I don't regret meeting Becky" Ash's quills prickled, her mind was all muddled from trying to comprehend all the things Lance was saying.

"Ash... when I sing with Becky, we lose ourselves in the music, nothing else matters but me, and her when I sang with you... we would just fight over the mic, let's face it Ash, the two of us wouldn't have worked out much longer"

Ash slammed her hands down on the table, "What did you expect? you're never here, isn't that what you said to me?" Ash said, recalling the events of the night she caught him cheating on her. "If you believed that we wouldn't work out, why did you tell me in a way that completely shattered my heart!" Ash bared her teeth at him, the rapidly increasing feeling of anger boiling to the surface.

Lance flinched, his emotions began to falter, as much he tried to stop it, his hands started to tremble. "I hid, Ash, I ran away from my problems again by making it _your_ fault"

"I continued to run from it, but when I saw you're performance on TV two months ago, I realised juts how much I really held you back" Lance's hands stopped trembling, his faltering emotions, now stabilised. "It was awesome Ash! although Becky was pissed because you tossed her favourite sunglasses into the audience" Lance chuckled

"You played a great song Ash, after seeing it, I couldn't just keep running, I had to tell you the truth"

Ash slowly unclenched her fists, her furious expression also softened somewhat.

"Which brings us to now..." Lance placed his palms flat on the table, bowing his head, quills pointed towards the ceiling. "...Ash, I'm so sorry." After a few moments of silence Lance opened one eye and peeked up at Ash, her expression while not angry anymore, had shifted to one of irritation.

"This doesn't make us even y'know"

Ash closed her eyes and folded her arms, she tapped her arms with her fingers before exhaling a deep sigh. "But I guess its a start" Lance lifted his head off the table, he leaned almost half way across across the table, his eyes blinking rapidly with surprise. "Really? ya mean it?"

Ashed rolled her eyes. "I still think you're an asshole, but I suppose I could forgive you,, _someday_ " Lance slid back down into his seat. _"_ I'll take what I can get get. " he said with a cheerful shrug, He then looked down at his watch to check the time.

"I should get going, all this wishy-washy emotional crap's made me pretty exhausted, but with this weight of my shoulders, I think I can sleep easy tonight." Lance shuffled his way out of the booth, picking up his guitar case that had been leaning on his seat. "Hey, if ya don't hate the idea, you, me and Becky should hang out sometime" A cheeky grin appeared on Lances face. "Ya could even bring Johnny, the two of you would be a great couple" Ash turned a crimson shade of red. "What! we aren't... I mean he isn't..." Ash stammered

"Ha! made ya blush" Lance laughed,

"Jerk!" Ashed pouted,

"I'll see ya around Ash" he shot her one last smile before walking to the door, tapping his knee while singing his own song 'I don't wanna' under his breath. Ash called out a halfhearted "See ya" along with an indifferent wave. she was left alone with her thoughts in the half-empty diner. she hadn't forgiven Lance just yet, that was going to take take some time. However her bitter memories of him seemed far less painful now, her chest seemed lighter, the feelings she set free with her song were flying close together in harmony.

The idea of being friends with Lance didn't seem so bad anymore, she had finally gained closure.

Chapter 3 End


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Johnny sat exhausted on his couch, the stench of metal and motor oil permeated his being. He had been trying his hardest to keep the garage up and running since his father and uncles were jailed, and for the most part he succeeded, lately though, he had found himself struggling to keep up with the recent influx of vehicles that were pouring into his shop.

"I dunno how long I can keep this up." He thought.

Deciding to take his mind off work, he picked up the remote lying beside him and turned on the TV, the sudden glare hurt his tired eyes, but after readjusting his vision, he was pleasantly surprised by what was on. It was just the regular old news channel, but sitting in the guest chair being interviewed, was none other than Buster Moon, sporting the same optimistic smile he always has.

"So Mr Moon, how goes the reconstruction of your theatre? and would you care to tell us any of your ideas for future performances?"

Buster smirked before leaping from his chair onto the news desk, looking straight at the camera before proudly declaring. "Real talent by real people! that's what people wanna see, and that's what we'll give them" Buster placed one hand on his hip before pointing at the camera with a confident grin. "I want you, yes, _you!,_ to come on down to the new moon theatre once it''s complete to showcase you're unique talents"

"Same ol' Buster" Johnny said while chuckling to himself, Johnny laid down on the couch, staring up at the ceiling fan, watching the blades spin around and around, his blinking became progressively slower before he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Damn, Johnny you look like shit" Ash said while while looking Johnny up and down. Johnny replied only by yawning, he didn't have the energy to come up with a clever retort. Meena glanced at Johnny with worry in her eyes. " Are you OK Johnny?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine"

Ash raised an eyebrow with doubt. "Ya sure? you look like you're about to fall asleep standing up"

"No, no, I'm alright"

His protests fell on deaf ears, the tired inflection in his voice, the way his arms drooped by his side and his slow pace as he walked, suggested otherwise, Meena looked around the crowded shopping mall they were at, her ears perked up as she spotted the food court. "Hey lets take a break over there" Ash and Meena both grabbed Johnny by the arms, pulling him behind them as they headed in the direction of the food court.

"Woo, I needed that" Johnny said, looking down at his now half empty coffee, taking in the aroma of the roasted coffee beans. he let out a content sigh.

"What's up with you lately Johnny? every time we see you, you look half dead" Ash said, while twirling around the straw in her coke with her finger. Johnny gulped down some more of his coffee before answering.

"Work, It's been getting tougher lately, trying to keep up with it all is draining all my energy"

"Ever thought about hiring someone to help?" Meena asked

Johnny stared at her with a look of surprise. "Hire someone? I-I wouldn't know how to, and besides I'd have to ask my Dad an-" Johnny was silenced by a scrunched up sandwich wrapper hitting him on the forehead.

"Johnny, stop, look at yourself, you're falling apart, if you overwork yourself too much, it could really affect you're health" Ash said, and she was right, Johnny had no idea how much longer he could run the garage by himself, but hiring someone to help? he didn't know how to go about about such a thing.

"Yeah you're right Ash, still, how do I, ya know... do that?"

"You could put an ad in the paper" Meena said.

"I could ask around on Facebook for you" Ash said

Johnny smiled before finishing off the last of his coffee and tossing it into the trash can, with surprisingly good accuracy. "Thanks you two, I'd be lost without you guys" The two giggled bashfully from his comment.

"Don't mention it Johnny"

Johnny glanced over at Ash, a question he'd been wanting to ask for awhile suddenly popped into his head. "You've been hanging out with Lance and his girlfriend lately right? how's that been going?"

Meena tensed up with shock, she looked at Ash with bewilderment. "You have?"

"Yeah, thanks to Johnny here" Ash shot him an annoyed look. "It's been...alright, he's making an effort to be friends with me, and his girlfriend seems, nice"

Ash rolled her eyes. "Nice, but clueless, very fucking clueless"

Since the talk with Lance, Ash decided to take him up on his offer of starting over as friends, the road to forgiveness would be a long one, but if he was sincere, she was willing to give it a shot. At first it was awkward, _really_ awkward, since Becky had an obvious distaste for her, due to a mix of jealousy, and Ash tossing her heart shaped sunglasses into the audience on live TV, to be stomped into a million pieces by hundreds of screaming fans, she had a hard time letting _that_ one go, but after Lance's insistence and a reluctant apology from Ash, she was able to move past it.

"I'm glad it's goin' well Ash" Johnny smiled warmly at her, hearing that put his mind at ease, if something went wrong between her and Lance he _definitely_ would have blamed himself, after all, _he_ was the one who insisted that she talk to Lance in the first place.

Ash fixed her gaze on Johnny, a slight hint of annoyance in her eyes. "Still, it would have been easier if _someone_ wasn't too damn tired all the time to come along." Johnny rubbed the side of his neck, he _did_ remember her asking him to go with her, he _wanted_ to, but he was fighting a losing battle with the fatigue that plagued him, so he had to say no. "Sorry Ash, I can't help it though..."

Ash crossed her arms and pouted. "I know but, it would have been more fun if you came..."

Meena snickered while covering her mouth with her hand.

"What?" Ash asked

"Oh, nothing" Meena looked away with a cheeky grin, seeing this irked Ash, the want, no, the _need_ to know what Meena was getting at, jabbed her like dozens of sharp needles. "No seriously, what?"

Johnny jumped as his phone started ringing, he checked to see who it was, before standing up and excusing himself from the table. "Sorry, I gotta take this, I'll be back in a minute" Ash's eyes followed him as he walked away from the table, when she set her sights back on Meena, she was met with an even _more_ smug grin.

"You like Johnny don't you?"

The question pierced Ash's heart like an arrow, her face went red as a tomato and her ears burned hotter than an open flame. She twiddled her thumbs while trying to come up with something to say, but what she managed to spit out, sounded more like incoherent babbling.

"Wha? I don't... I mean, him?, me? no no no, there's no way he - I mean, I could -" Meena placed her hand on Ash's shoulder "Just breathe Ash"

Ash pulled the lid and straw from her drink and frantically chugged it down, trying to put out the fire that was lit within her. Sure people have _implied_ that there was something between her and Johnny, but being asked outright? she wasn't ready for that. Ash was reminded of all the times she and Johnny inadvertently held hands or found themselves in almost intimate situations, she remembered how her heart would pound like a jackhammer in those situations, she had to face the obvious truth that, yes, she _did_ like him.

"Y-yes I do..." Ash stammered

Meena squealed with excitement, "When are you gonna tell him?"

"I'm not"

"Huh? why not!"

"I don't wanna complicate things..."

Johnny's beautiful chocolate brown eyes, his silky smooth voice, and not to mention his incredible titan-like body, all captivated her, but all that paled in comparison to his unbelievably kind smile. she didn't want to ruin their friendship by dropping such a _bombshell_ on him. unlike with Lance, a rejection from Johnny might hurt more than anything she could ever imagine.

"C'mon Ash, It's Johnny, do you really believe he'd hurt you?" Meena asked

Ash pondered the question, while it's possible Johnny _may_ not like her back, he's not the kind of person that would just throw her away, but can she really tell him?

"...I'll think about it"

Ash pointed her finger at Meena. "Don't _you_ tell him either" Meena chuckled before making the 'cross my heart' gesture with her trunk "OK I swear" Ash's eyes widened as she noticed Johnny making his way back to the table. "Let's change the subject, he's coming back" Johnny pulled back his chair with a squeak before sitting down with his head in his hands.

"Who was that"

"Another guy who wants his car fixed"

"And?

"...I took the job"

"Jesus Johnny, are you a glutton for punishment?"

Johnny lifted his head out of his hands and slumped back into his chair. "I'm seriously considering hiring someone now..."

"Don't worry Johnny! it'll all work out" Ash gave him a thumbs up and winked at him.

"Thanks, I'll have to head downtown and put an ad in the paper tomorrow"

Johnny pushed his seat back before standing up, feeling revitalised by the coffee he just drank, a surge of energy shot through his body. "Now lets get back to shoppin' eh?" the two girls nodded before getting out of their seats.

The three toured the mall, casually chatting away, Meena being Meena, typically bought a lot of baking supplies, Ash bought a punk rocker shirt, a black one of course, and Johnny bought a leather jacket and a pair of jeans that were virtually _identical_ to the ones he was already wearing. when the sun started to set, the three decided it was time to head home.

* * *

Johnny was busy working on a customers car when he heard a knock at his door, picking up a cloth and wiping the grease from his hands, he headed over to answer it. He opened the door and looked down to see Lance, who looked up at him with a lazy smile on his face.

"Hey Johnny! heard ya were lookin' for workers, mind if I apply"

Johnny rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing things correctly, Lance asking to work at his garage? what the hell is going on?

"What about you're singing gigs" Johnny asked, Lance put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "It's been kinda slow lately, I could really use the extra cash and besides, Ash said you were struggling."

"Ash told you?"

"Yeah, she sounded totally worried about you, and..." Lance turned his head away, taking a deep breath before exhaling. "...I gotta pay you back for helping me out with Ash, you have no idea much better it feels with that weight off my chest"

"Becky said it was alright with her too, so if you'll have me, I'd totally love to help out"

Johnny rested his chin on his hand while deep in thought. "You know anything about cars?" he asked, Lance threw his hands up and shook his head. "Nope, not a thing, but I figured you could teach me" Johnny sighed and looked back at the car he was working on, turning back to Lance, he made his decision.

"OK, you're hired, I'll teach you what I can"

Johnny was reluctant, but he had no other applicants yet, he was under a tremendous amount of pressure and _any_ extra pair of hands would be a _godsend_ at this point, Johnny motioned for Lance to come inside.

"OK, until you get used to working here, _stay_ away from the tires, alright?"

"No problem dude" Lance said with the same old lazy inflection, Johnny leaned under the hood of the car. "Mind passin' me that spanner?" Lance raised an eyebrow at him. "Spanner?"

" _Oh I forgot, he's American_ " Johnny thought

"I mean, wanna pass me that wrench"

"Oh! yeah, you got it!" Lance picked it up before eagerly handing it to him. The two continued on like that for the rest of the day, with Lance performing simple tasks for Johnny as he did the harder stuff, making sure to explain the basics to him the best he could as they went along. It wasn't much, but Lance's help did make a difference.

From now on, things were going to get interesting.

Chapter 4 End


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

The atmosphere of the garage has changed somewhat over the past two weeks, it was a mix of calm and awkwardness, Johnny was relieved of a great deal of stress from working alone, but on the other hand, the awkward feeling in his chest from working with his best friends ex, the one who _cheated_ on her, was jarring to say the least. Lance didn't seem to have any ulterior motive to working with Johnny, only to pay him back for his help in making amends with Ash. Still the feeling would not go away, so he went to the one person who's opinion mattered the most to him, his father.

"I dunno dad, it just, feels so _strange_ y'know _?"_

Johnny peered at his father through the thick glass that separated them, the uncertainty in his eyes was as clear as day. Marcus rubbed his chin and averted his gaze, as if he was recalling something from his past, he closed his eyes and gently shook head head, before returning his attention to his son.

"Y'know Johnny from the way you described 'im, he sounds a bit like a mate o' mine from back when I was still livin' in London"

"Really?" Johnny said.

"Yeah, we called him 'Big Mouth' Tony, he was an arrogant little prick, with an ego the size of Big Ben..."

Marcus smiled fondly while reminiscing about his old friend. "Sure he would, _say_ and _do,_ a lot of dumb and insensitive shit from time to time, but to us, he was as loyal as they come, he never let us down, not even once"

"What happened to him?" Johnny asked, the question caused Marcus's calm expression to change to one of melancholy.

"...He died, took a bullet for a mate in a gang raid" Johnny gasped with surprise, Marcus rubbed the back of his neck and gave his son a reassuring smile. "People surprise ya Johnny, for all you know, this Lance fella could be a jerk with a heart o' gold, just like Tony was" Johnny's uncertain feeling became smaller and smaller from his fathers words. "Thanks dad, I'm glad I came to ya"

"No problem Johnny, what's a father for, if not to give his son some advice eh?"

"Alright inmates!, visiting time is over!" The prison guard said with a thunderous shout.

The two stood up from their chairs, each wishing that the glass between them would just disappear, so they could give each other a warm, and loving hug, but they didn't need to, the powerful familial love that had been growing stronger and stronger between the two, was conveyed with just a smile.

"See ya son"

"Yeah, see ya dad"

The two turned and walked away from the booth, a smile wide on both of their faces.

The next day Johnny decided to teach Lance how to change a tyre, feeling more relaxed around him, and confident that he won't puncture the tyres with his quills. Lance was more than a little anxious, he had a never driven a car before, let alone changed a tyre, but with Lance being Lance, he hid his anxiousness behind a mask of ego and pride.

"Yeah! bring it on! this is gonna be a piece of cake"

The task was a little more arduous than he thought it would be, every time Lance made a mistake, he would cross his arms with a haughty look on his face. "Argh! this is stupid!" He would say, trying to hide his embarrassment, Johnny would simply chuckle before resuming the lesson.

After they were done, and Lance had successfully changed his first tyre, he celebrated like a child that had just learned how to ride a bike. it was quite amusing for Johnny to see, once Lance realised what he was doing, he stopped, cleared his throat and put his hands in his pockets.

"S-See? told ya I'd nail it"

Johnny could see right through him, he was beginning to understand what his father meant about people surprising you. He gave Lance a congratulatory pat on the back. "Yep! ya did good Lance" Johnny put his hands on his hips and smiled.

"Think ya could change the rest of them by ya self?"

"Yeah, totally, no problem dude"

The two continued working at a moderate pace, Johnny would glance over at Lance from time to time and catch him grinning like a fool every time he finished changing a tyre, seeing him so satisfied from something that simple made Johnny smile. It reminded him of when his dad taught him about fixing cars when he was younger, those were some of the fondest memories of his life, at those times, nothing else mattered, not the heists, not the gang, just them.

Once their work for the day was done, Lance sauntered over to Johnny.

"Hey Johnny, wanna go grab a drink?"

Johnny paused for a moment before answering. "Sure, why not" He didn't fancy himself much of a drinker, but the idea of hanging out with another guy for once, was pretty exciting to him. the two locked up the garage before heading into town.

The ambience of the pub was energetic to say the least, the conversation was lively, and no one was at the point of being so drunk they were falling all over the place, at least, not yet anyway. Johnny and Lance were sat at bar, Lance had almost polished of his second beer while Johnny was only halfway done with his first, as he brought the drink to his lips and gulped down some more, Lance asked something unexpected.

"So, when are you and Ash gonna hook up?"

Johnny's eyes widened and he choked a bit on his beer. "Wh-Wha?" he struggled to get any words past the liquid in his throat, Lance hopped off his stool and patted Johnny on the back, when Johnny stopped choking Lance sat back down.

"Wh-What makes you ask that?"

Lance raised an eyebrow at him. "Dude, she's totally into you" Johnny's face reddened, he quickly chugged down the last of his beer before calling to the bartender. "Can I get another one please?" The bartender complied and bought him a fresh beer, he quickly grabbed it and took a huge swig.

"Calm down man" Lance said, Johnny took a few deep breaths before making direct eye contact with Lance. "H-How would you know that?"

"Whenever she hangs out with me and Becky, she talks about you, _alot!"_

"That doesn't mean she l-likes me!, we're just friends" Johnny stammered, his heart was pounding like crazy. Lance narrowed his eyes and grinned. "You like her too don't you?" Johnny froze, time seemed to slow down for him, the beats of his heart reverberated slower inside his head, he spun his stool around and leaned into the bar. " _Do I_?" he thought.

He thought about all the times they hung out, the times they would laugh together, the times they sang together, and all the times he saw her smile, whenever he saw that, his heart skipped a beat, any time they found themselves doing something even _remotely_ romantic, albeit unintentionally, he would find himself a stuttering mess, he was finding it harder and harder to deny.

"Yeah, I guess I do..." Johnny said as he turned back to Lance.

Lance had a small but satisfied smile on his face. "Cool, y'know, You'd be good together, you're a great guy" Johnny smiled and patted Lance on the shoulder. "Thanks"

"Although... I dunno when I'll tell her."

"Don't worry about it dude, just go at you're own pace"

"OK, I'll do that"

Johnny held his glass in front of him, motioning at it with his eyes, Lance understood what Johnny was doing, and raised his own glass as well, they brought their glasses together with a satisfying ping.

"Cheers"

The two took a big swig of their beers and began chatting about things other than romance, Johnny was happy, happy to have made the decision to trust Lance, He had finally accepted him, as a friend.

Chapter 5 End


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

* * *

Johnny rested his head in his hand as he looked out the window, the sounds of the other people on the bus were drowned out by his own thoughts, a heavy sigh escaped his lips as he turned his head to look at the message on his phone.

" _ **Don't worry bro! you can do it**_!"

The text was from Lance, he had been pushing Johnny to tell Ash how he feels about her for awhile now, he was getting even more persistent lately, especially after Johnny mentioned the trip he was about to go on, he looked beside him to see Ash, whose head was bobbing up and down, struggling to stay awake, usually this would have made him chuckle or smile, but it only made him more nervous, he thought back to how he ended up in the situation.

A couple of days ago Buster called everyone to a meeting, since the theatre was still under construction it was held at Eddies Pool house.

"How's it going everybody?" Buster had a huge grin on his face. "I've called you all here today because, w _e_ have been invited to stay at Nana Noodleman's extravagant beach-side hotel this weekend, free of charge!"

Everyone gasped with excitement, the room filled with laughter and cheer, but in a moment of realisation, Rosita raised her hand.

"Oh! Mr Moon, do they have a room big enough for 27?"

Buster chuckled at her question before giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Rosita, it's all taken care of." Rosita exhaled a relieved sigh before joining the others in their celebration, Johnny however, slumped in his seat, the idea of spending a weekend at the beach was really appealing to him. but could he really leave the garage to Lance for a few days? was he ready for that? these questions bounced around in his head for a few minutes before a pair of arms wrapped around his neck from behind, he jumped up, pulling the person up with him, who then wrapped their legs around him.

"Cheer up big guy! we're going to the beach!"

Johnny turned his head to see Ash clinging to his back, she ruffled his hair and smiled at him, causing his heart to skip a beat. "Yeah I know, I'm just worried about the garage that's all"

"You worried Lance will fuck things up?" Ash said half-jokingly.

"Sorta, he's been been doin' pretty good lately, but still..."

Ash rested her head on Johnny's shoulder. "You worry too much, a beach trip will do ya a world of good" Ash then rolled her eyes. "If Lance fucks things up, well... just worry about that when it happens"

Johnny thought about it for a moment before relenting. "You're right! cheers Ash" he smiled at her, every time he felt unsure about something, she was always there to take away his doubt, that may have been a big part of why he fell for her. the two walked over to join the others, with Ash still clinging to Johnny's back, they all had a good time as they discussed their plans for the trip.

The next day Johnny asked Lance if he would be able to handle the garage for a few days without him.

"No prob dude! I can handle that!" Lance said while tapping his own chest with his thumb. Johnny was still a little unconvinced. "Ya sure ya can handle it?" Lance walked over and patted Johnny on the back. "Yeah, I got this" Johnny closed his eyes before exhaling a happy sigh. "Alright, I believe ya" The two began working on a clients car, for awhile the only noise in the garage was the metallic clicks of the wrench Johnny was using to loosen a bolt, until Lance broke the silence with a question. "So you _are_ gonna tell Ash you like her on this trip right?" Johnny stopped dead in his tracks with one loud metallic click, he turned his head towards Lance. "Wh-why would you say that?"

"C'mon man! you're going to the beach with the chick you like! why wouldn't ya tell her" Lance reached over to grab a cloth to wipe the grease off his hands. "I've never been one for that lovey-dovey romantic shit myself, but hey, I never thought I'd end up fixing cars either, shit happens" Lance then gave Johnny a thumbs up. "Just go for it!"

"Why do you want me to tell her so badly?"

Johnny was wondering this for a while, Lance narrowed his eyes, he threw the cloth he had onto the bench, and placed his hands in his lap before making eye contact with Johnny. "Look dude, I hurt her, I fucked up, and..." Lance bit his lip. "You're the best friend I've had in a long time, I know I'm not easy to get along with, the kind of friends I attract are shallow assholes just like me..." Johnny's eyes widened in surprise. "...You though, you have to be the nicest dude I've ever met, you helped me out when I needed it most, I guess, I just want you and her to be happy"

Johnny walked over and put his hand on Lance's shoulder. "Thanks Lance, y'know you're better than you think you are" Lance looked up at Johnny. "Ya mean that?" Johnny averted his eyes, a slight frown appeared on his face. "Everyone makes mistakes, some bigger than others, but it's the people who _don't_ try to make up for them that are the real terrible ones, _you,_ really are better than you think you are" Lance smiled at Johnny, instead of a casual smirk or a lazy grin, it was a genuine smile filled with gratitude. "Thanks man I appreciate that" Johnny nodded with approval before sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "I'll try... to tell her how I feel"

"Like I said before man, you can do it!" Lance replied, Johnny walked back over to the hood of the car. "C'mon lets get back to work, we can go grab a drink afterwards" Lance raised an eyebrow with surprise. "Whoa, it's usually me who has to ask _you_ to hang out after work"

"Well, I'm in a good mood, what can I say?" the two chuckled before returning to work, their friendship had definitely grown a bit stronger that day, however when the day for the beach trip came, Johnny's nerves were way worse than he thought they would be, which brings us to the present. Johnny was snapped out of his deep thought by a sensation on his right side, Ash lost her fight with her fatigue and fell asleep leaning against him, he clutched his chest trying to stop his heart from beating faster than it already was.

Johnny looked out the window to try and calm himself down, he saw the vibrant green colour of the trees disappear as they were replaced by beautiful mix of gold and blue, the beach was now within sight, as well as a huge building that said 'Noodleman Hotel' on it, Johnny took a few deep breaths before taking one last look at Ash's sleeping face, as the distance between them and the beach started to close, Johnny clenched his fist and thought.

"OK! I can do this!"

Chapter 6 End


End file.
